Late shopper rush drives Boxing Day sale visitors | EUROtoday

An night surge in consumers eager on Boxing Day bargains drove a decade-high enhance in footfall for the annual gross sales, figures recommend.

It was up by 4.4% throughout all UK retail locations together with excessive streets and procuring centres in comparison with the identical day final 12 months, based on information from MRI Software.

Footfall additionally remained sturdy on Saturday, and MRI anticipated the sturdy post-Christmas procuring momentum to proceed into the brand new 12 months.

But greater footfall doesn’t essentially translate into greater spending, and Barclays has forecast that customers would spend £1bn much less on this 12 months’s Boxing Day offers.

By 3pm on 26 December, it appeared there had been a muted response to the gross sales, based on early MRI information with excessive avenue visits down 1.5% in comparison with 2024 and procuring centre visits down 0.6%.

MRI counts footfall in additional than 660 retail areas throughout the UK and retail analyst Jenni Matthews stated that because the day progressed, it grew to become clear that consumers had been deciding to go out however only a bit later within the day.

“The boost in activity was driven by a peak in visits across all UK retail destinations from 5pm – 11pm averaging +9.6% versus an average increase of +3.1% from 6am-5pm,” she stated.

With many shops not reopening till 28 December, Ms Matthews stated it was probably that hospitality and leisure venues would have benefited from the rise in foot visitors.

“This is an early indicator that the retail sector may well end the year on a positive note given the challenging times faced at the beginning of the year,” she stated.

Shoppers had been additionally out in power on Saturday, based on the MRI information, with footfall throughout retail locations up by 1.6% in comparison with 27 December final 12 months.

Ms Matthews stated that with household gatherings ending and the brand new 12 months looming, MRI anticipates footfall will proceed to rise over the approaching days.

“Consumers [will be] likely shopping the sales, making the most of the festive events and attractions within towns and cities, and stocking up on New Year’s Eve essentials, keeping the festive retail period firmly in motion,” she stated.

Analysts say 2025 has been a difficult 12 months for individuals as rising costs and different components have squeezed family funds.

Barclays’ shopper spend report advised that fewer individuals deliberate to make the most of the gross sales, forecasting consumers to spending £3.6bn, down from £4.6bn final 12 months.

Recent retail spending information from the Office for National Statistics confirmed that many patrons resisted the lure of November’s Black Friday gross sales, with solely a 0.1% carry in gross sales volumes.